A majority of 18th century American theater forced African-Americans into negative, stereotypical roles of “imbeciles” or comic servants. John Leacock’s The Fall of British Tyranny was an outlier during this time and gave black actors positive self-images. The 19th century saw the first African-American written novels, dramas, and books of travel by William Wells Brown. Brown was also a lecturer and playwright who satirized the institution of slavery. The first black theater company – the African Grove Theater by James Hewett - also developed during this time. The African Grove Theater included black performances of Shakespeare, original readings, and musicals before mixed audiences. The African Grove Theater was subject to white harassment from audience members and local police, forcing it to close in 1823. Contemporary African-American performers, including Ira Aldrige, saw the destruction of the African Grove and left America for European performances.
Popular 19th century themes in African American theater were “Tom shows” focusing on antislavery and popularized after the release of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Minstrel shows, originally an African-American art, were taken by white actors in blackface and based on stereotypes of big lips, laziness, drinking, and head-scratching. Black minstrel troops were not formally recognized until 1865 with the Georgia Minstrel Troupe. Mistrelry was what general Americans identified blacks with, meaning some black actors still saw it as a chance for some recognition and success. The late 1890s saw the rise of black musicals in the form of “coon shows” and were again perpetrated by white actors in blackface and stereotype. However, black producers and performers – including Bob Cole, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Bert Williams. The first all-black musical In Dahomey was performed on Broadway in 1902. In Dahomey was targeted to break the minstrel pattern and established Bert Williams and George Walker as the most recognizable African American stars of the time. The 1920s saw the expansion of black-written Broadway shows, but their production team and viewing audience was still limited to white Americans.
The 20th century Harlem Renaissance was the period of cultural, intellectual, philosophical, and political awakening of young African American artists and thinkers. Jazz culture grew, and the inclusion of black theater into black lives began with the Lafayette Theater production of Darkydom. Inter-theater racial awareness also grew, and plays like All God’s Chillun Got Wings dealt with contemporary social issues facing black America. The 1930’s included established African-American theater groups of the Howard University Players, the Harlem Experimental, and the Negro Art Theater. Langston Hughes’ contribution to black theater during these decades define Hughes as of the most prolific African-American poets of all time.
Following the Great Depression, the Federal Theater was founded in 1935 to hire theater workers struggling to survive and included African-American theater units. World War II saw black artists continue to struggle in theater and only a handful of black-centric plays were successful during this decade. Competition with commercialism and the rise of television in the 1950s saw many African-American troupes close. The Black Theater Alliance and the Apollo, remained cultural icons of black theater. Raisin in the Sun, in 1959, became the longest-running black play on Broadway following Langston Hughes’ Mulatto. The 1960’s Civil Rights movement saw the search for a new black identity and definition for their experiences, as well as the removal of slave-era black stereotypes. The importance of black community support in the 1970s remains a critical point in its continuation and expansion as a facet of ethnic theater.
Popular 19th century themes in African American theater were “Tom shows” focusing on antislavery and popularized after the release of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Minstrel shows, originally an African-American art, were taken by white actors in blackface and based on stereotypes of big lips, laziness, drinking, and head-scratching. Black minstrel troops were not formally recognized until 1865 with the Georgia Minstrel Troupe. Mistrelry was what general Americans identified blacks with, meaning some black actors still saw it as a chance for some recognition and success. The late 1890s saw the rise of black musicals in the form of “coon shows” and were again perpetrated by white actors in blackface and stereotype. However, black producers and performers – including Bob Cole, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Bert Williams. The first all-black musical In Dahomey was performed on Broadway in 1902. In Dahomey was targeted to break the minstrel pattern and established Bert Williams and George Walker as the most recognizable African American stars of the time. The 1920s saw the expansion of black-written Broadway shows, but their production team and viewing audience was still limited to white Americans.
The 20th century Harlem Renaissance was the period of cultural, intellectual, philosophical, and political awakening of young African American artists and thinkers. Jazz culture grew, and the inclusion of black theater into black lives began with the Lafayette Theater production of Darkydom. Inter-theater racial awareness also grew, and plays like All God’s Chillun Got Wings dealt with contemporary social issues facing black America. The 1930’s included established African-American theater groups of the Howard University Players, the Harlem Experimental, and the Negro Art Theater. Langston Hughes’ contribution to black theater during these decades define Hughes as of the most prolific African-American poets of all time.
Following the Great Depression, the Federal Theater was founded in 1935 to hire theater workers struggling to survive and included African-American theater units. World War II saw black artists continue to struggle in theater and only a handful of black-centric plays were successful during this decade. Competition with commercialism and the rise of television in the 1950s saw many African-American troupes close. The Black Theater Alliance and the Apollo, remained cultural icons of black theater. Raisin in the Sun, in 1959, became the longest-running black play on Broadway following Langston Hughes’ Mulatto. The 1960’s Civil Rights movement saw the search for a new black identity and definition for their experiences, as well as the removal of slave-era black stereotypes. The importance of black community support in the 1970s remains a critical point in its continuation and expansion as a facet of ethnic theater.